Belote Classique
The belote of always: 32 cards, 4 players in 2 teams, the turned-up card, and "je prends" or "je passe". Dix-de-Der follows the official rules of the French Belote Federation (FFB).
The deal
The game is played with 32 cards (7 up to Ace in the four suits), counter-clockwise, starting with the player to the dealer's right.
- The dealer gives 5 cards to each player (in 3 + 2 or 2 + 3).
- The top card of the stock is turned face up: this is the proposed trump — the retourne.
- When a player takes, they receive the turned card, and everyone is dealt up to 8 cards in hand.
The bidding: two rounds
First round. Each player in turn says "je prends" (I take) — the turned card's suit becomes trump — or "je passe".
Second round (if all four passed): each player may take by naming any suit of their choice, or pass again.
If all four players pass in both rounds, the deal is void: the cards are reshuffled and dealt by the next dealer.
The taker's team commits to scoring more points than the defence. In classique there are no declarations — only belote-rebelote (King + Queen of trumps, +20 points) is added to the tricks.
Card order and values
| Card | In trumps | Off trump |
|---|---|---|
| Jack | 20 (highest) | 2 |
| Nine | 14 | 0 |
| Ace | 11 | 11 (highest) |
| Ten | 10 | 10 |
| King | 4 | 4 |
| Queen | 3 | 3 |
| Eight | 0 | 0 |
| Seven | 0 | 0 |
The deal totals 162 points: 152 card points plus the dix de der — the 10 points for the last trick that give the app its name.
Scoring
1. Contract made
The takers total strictly more than the defence (belote included): each team marks its realised points.
2. Down (chute)
The takers total less than the defence: they mark nothing, the defence marks 162 points (252 on a capot).
3. Litige
A perfect tie (81 to 81, or 91 to 91 with a belote): the taker's points are held over and go to whichever team wins the next deal. The defence marks its points immediately.
Capot
A team that takes all eight tricks makes capot: the dix de der is then worth 100 points and the deal totals 252 points.
Belote-rebelote (+20) always stays with the team that announced it, even when going down. Rounding to the nearest ten (84 → 80, 85 → 90) can be toggled in the options.
Belote Coinchée
In coinche nothing is turned up: you announce a contract, you defend it — and the opponents can coinche it. Dix-de-Der applies the official FFB rules.
The auction
Each player is dealt 8 cards straight away. In turn, each player may:
- Pass.
- Bid, announcing the value first, then the suit — for example "90 hearts". A bid is at least 80, in multiples of 10, and must exceed the standing bid. You may also bid capot (committing to all eight tricks) — no bid beats a capot.
- Coincher an opponent's bid: the contract is frozen and the deal score will be multiplied by 2.
- Surcoincher after an opposing coinche: the auction ends immediately and the score will be multiplied by 4.
The team that wins the contract (the takers) must meet two conditions: reach the number of points bid and outscore the defence.
Declarations (annonces)
Coinche is always played with declarations — card combinations in hand that score points. A card counts for only one declaration.
| Declaration | Combination | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Carré of Jacks | 4 Jacks | 200 |
| Carré of Nines | 4 Nines | 150 |
| Carré | 4 Aces, Tens, Kings or Queens | 100 |
| Cent | 5 consecutive cards, same suit | 100 |
| Cinquante | 4 consecutive cards, same suit | 50 |
| Tierce | 3 consecutive cards, same suit | 20 |
Declarations are announced on the first trick and resolved on the second: only the side holding the highest declaration validates all of its declarations. On a perfect tie, no declaration counts. Carrés of 7s and 8s don't count; sequences follow the order 7-8-9-10-Jack-Queen-King-Ace.
King + Queen of trumps in one hand: +20 points, announced as the two cards are played. In coinche the belote is untouchable — it stays yours even when going down.
Scoring
1. Contract made
The takers mark their total + the contract value; the defence marks its total.
We bid 90 hearts. We make 102, they make 60. Contract made: 102 + 90 = 192. They mark 60.
2. Down (chute)
The takers mark nothing (except an untouchable belote). The defence marks 160 chute points + the contract value + its declarations + the takers' declarations, which change hands.
We bid 100 spades and only make 85: down. The defence marks 160 + 100 = 260 (plus any declarations).
3. Coinched or surcoinched contract
The deal score is multiplied by 2 (coinche) or by 4 (surcoinche) — in either direction. Coincher is betting big.
Capot
A demanded capot is worth 250 contract points. Taking all eight tricks raises the dix de der to 100 points (deal total: 252) — and the defence's declarations change hands, whether the capot was demanded or not.
In coinche, each deal's score is rounded to the nearest ten: 84 → 80, 85 → 90.
Contrée, No Trump and All Trump
Contrée or coinche? The principle is the same — a contract, a defence, the double. Dix-de-Der optionally offers the two expert denominations: Sans Atout (No Trump) and Tout Atout (All Trump).
With the option enabled, you can bid not only in the four suits but also Sans Atout (no suit is trump) and Tout Atout (every suit is trump). Card order and values change:
Sans Atout (SA — No Trump)
No cutting is possible; no belote-rebelote. The order in every suit: Ace > Ten > King > Queen > Jack > Nine > Eight > Seven.
| Card | Ace | Ten | King | Queen | Jack | 9 / 8 / 7 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Points | 19 | 10 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
Tout Atout (TA — All Trump)
Every suit is trump: you must always play higher on the trick if you can, but you never cut into another suit. The order in every suit: Jack > Nine > Ace > Ten > King > Queen > Eight > Seven.
| Card | Jack | Nine | Ace | Ten | King | Queen | 8 / 7 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Points | 13 | 9 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
In All Trump every suit is trump: a King + Queen of any suit counts as a belote — up to 4 belotes, i.e. 80 points. In No Trump there is no belote at all.
All values in this chapter follow the official rules of the French Belote Federation. Every denomination totals 152 card points + 10 for the last trick = 162.
The daily challenge
Every day, the whole world plays exactly the same deal. Your point difference is your daily score — no luck, just play.
The daily challenge comes in three boards: Coinche, Belote Classique, and a Dutch variant for the curious — the card game of the Netherlands, belote's cousin, with surprises of its own.
You can replay the deal as often as you like, but only the first attempt counts in the ranking, per day and per board. A new challenge arrives every night at midnight.
Create a group with players you know to compare your scores among yourselves, alongside the worldwide ranking.
The AI opponent
In Dix-de-Der you play against solid virtual opponents — offline, at any hour. This chapter: which brain to pick, at which level, and how to share a deal.
The two brains: Tree and Neural
In Settings → full settings → AI brain, you choose the type of AI:
- Tree — the classic brain. It follows game rules and reasoning steps we wrote ourselves: "do I hold trump, is my partner master, can I take this trick…". Built into the app, always available, it plays a solid game everywhere.
- Neural — the learning brain. It taught itself to play by playing an enormous number of games and learning from each one, rather than following fixed rules. A small one-time download is all it takes; after that it works offline. It keeps improving with updates.
The AI is a demanding opponent, not an unbeatable one: a good human player still beats it. Think of it as a solid club player — often a notch sharper than the rulebook, but beatable when you play well.
The levels: Monkey, Beginner and Pro
The difficulty is set to Monkey, Beginner or Pro. At Monkey and Beginner the opponents deliberately play weaker to let you learn; at Pro the AI plays at full strength.
Your rating only changes at the Pro level. Your partner, North, always plays at full strength, whatever the level.
Table talk
The virtual players can drop short remarks during the game — a reaction to a fine move or a blunder, purely for atmosphere. They have no influence on your rating. To turn them off: Opponent chatter, in the settings.
Some chat replies are AI-generated and can occasionally be off — see the privacy policy for what gets sent.
Sharing a game ("beat my score")
After a game you can share it with a friend: they play exactly the same cards against the same AI as you, and try to beat your score. The comparison is fair by construction.
On the mobile versions, a green share button appears after the game; your friend receives the score sheet along with a QR code that starts the same deal.
Pause and resume
Stopping mid-deal? The app remembers where you were: next time you pick up exactly where you left off.
Help improve the AI (optional)
At the bottom of the full settings you'll find Help improve the AI (share anonymous games) (off by default). Switch it on and the app may collect your well-played games anonymously — no username or personal details — to train the neural brain. Can be switched off at any time; details in the privacy policy.
Multiplayer
Belote is best with four real players. Invite your friends and family to your table, wherever they are.
Create an account
Create a multiplayer account via the app's Settings: choose a username, an email address and a password. The account is free.
No spaces or special characters in the username. Stay courteous in chat and voice chat — complaints can lead to account closure.
Invite friends
Add your friends to your list from the multiplayer screen, then set up your table: assign the seats — empty seats are taken by the AI. During the game, built-in chat and voice chat let you talk as if around a real table.
If a player loses connection, the AI takes their seat until they return (their name is prefixed "(CPU)").
You can also pause a game with friends and pick it up later, when everyone is available again.
The rating
How it is calculated
Your rating shows how you play your cards — not whether you win or lose. It starts at 5000; higher means you consistently get more out of your cards than expected.
Replay and compare. After each deal, the app replays the same deal with the AI in your seat — same cards, same partners. The AI's score shows what was achievable with your hand; your result is compared to it. So it's your decision that counts, not your luck: a thankless deal played to the maximum is worth as much as an easy one.
Your rating only changes at the Pro level (where the AI plays at full strength) and only in single-player. In multiplayer the deal can't be replayed — no rating.
Why didn't my rating go up when I won? Winning also depends on your partner and the cards. The rating measures your choices against what was achievable: you can win an easy deal playing poorly, and lose a hard one playing very well.
The AI is stronger than me — am I penalised? No. The AI only serves as a yardstick: everyone is compared to the same reference, and you are measured against your own expected level. Losing to the AI is normal and costs you no rating by itself.
Your first games. At the start the rating settles quickly (the provisional period); after that the adjustments become gentler.
Check it yourself
Why did my rating drop? After each game, tap "Details" to see, trick by trick, what the AI would have played with your cards. In the rating screen, Reset rating puts it back to 5000.